Kiniko's birthday

Kiniko turned 19 two days ago.

She requested me to cook "gratin" - a Japanized western dish with pasta, sauteed onion & meat in white sauce baked in the oven with some cheese on top. She loves the dish and even asks me to fix it on a sizzling hot summer day, which I turn down immediately. I am glad she was born in winter.

I thought there should be a birthday cake too, but I was too lazy to go shopping. So I decided to bake one. Baking sounds like more work to do but I was just too lazy to get out of my pajamas. Fortunately, there were all the ingredients called for at home. (Well, after all, I had to change and go out to buy some strawberries.)

Ta-dahhh!


I probably hadn't baked a cake since my days in Riyadh. Glad I remembered how. This is a Japanese style cake with whipped heavy cream & strawberries (and canned mandarin oranges to our liking).

Since Koi was away on a business trip, I sent him his portion via Internet. The actual piece ended up in Kiniko's stomach the following morning.


I guess I recovered some dignity as a mother on that day. Shinako was real jealous saying that I had never baked her a cake on her birthday. I promised her that I would bake one on her birthday - when she turns 19.